The Valentine's Dare
by Charlie O'Kelley
Summary: Beckett loses a bet with Castle and he asks her to dinner.  She just didn't realize what day he wanted to go out with her.  I wanted to get some of the story posted before the end of Valentine's Day, more will be posted soon.  Story is now complete!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:

This is just a little piece that popped into my head and I wanted to write it all out by the end of Valentine's Day. Well since there is less that 90 minutes left of the day, I don't think that will actually work. I did figure that I will try to post some of it at least before the end of the day. This hasn't been beta'ed yet so please forgive any glaring errors. I might go back and make some changes to this part once the rest of the story is finished but I will let you know if I do.

Enjoy and I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day.

BTW, I don't own the characters etc.

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The Valentine's Dare

"Looks like I won the bet, Beckett," Richard Castle said smugly as he caught Beckett in the break room fixing coffee.

"Castle," she said annoyed.

"You said that if I was right, you would do something for me."

"What do you want?" she asked suspiciously.

"I want to take you out to dinner."

"Dinner?"

"Yes, dinner. I'll get back to you with the details."

"Fine," she said as she took her coffee and went to leave. "Just don't mention this to anyone."

Rick watched her leave with a smile on his face. She had walked nicely into his trap. Now he just needed to make sure that he could spring it properly. Watching Beckett from the window of the break room, he smiled as he began texting and making calls to set things up for his date. Once things were set up, he walked back to her desk and sat in his chair.

"Monday night, 6:30, I'll pick you up," he said after he looked around and noticed that everyone else was busy.

"Fine," she said as Esposito and Ryan walked up to them with a folder. They discussed the new case and soon she had forgotten all about Monday night.

"So you have a date for Valentines?" asked Lanie as they enjoyed their lunch in her office the following day.

"No," Kate replied. "I'm not even sure what day it is."

"The fourteenth, just like every year," Lanie said with a grin before she sipped her drink.

"Very funny. I don't know what day of the week it is," she cocked one eyebrow instead of sarcastically adding 'better?'

"You need a calendar girlfriend. Valentine's is Monday."

"Monday," Kate said dumbfounded.

"Is there a problem with that?"

"No. Not at all," Kate said before mumbling into her drink, "I'm going to kill him."


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note:

Thanks for all the reviews for this so far! These parts are short, really short for this one even but I have at least 5 done already. I'll try to post another one tonight. I just need to get the last part finished or I would post all of it at once. Enjoy!

Remember, I don't own Castle.

Part 2

Kate went back up to her desk, glad that Castle was stuck in meetings with his publishers and such all day. She knew that she was going to have to ask him about Gina and why they didn't have plans for Valentine's Day. Castle knew that she and Josh had broken up, thanks to Josh catching her at the precinct and breaking it off with her there. Castle just didn't know that she knew that he had broken it off with Gina. He hadn't said anything and there hadn't been anything printed on Page 6. Luckily she didn't have to worry about it when Castle showed up early the next morning. 

"So, Castle. You and Gina have big plans for Valentine's?" Esposito asked.

"No, we split up a couple of weeks ago," he said casually but not looking at Kate.

"Really, I hadn't seen anything on Page 6."

"Not everything I do ends up in the paper," Castle said.

"So playboy Richard Castle doesn't have any plans?"

"I never said that," he said with a smug smile.

He chanced a look at Beckett and he knew that she had figured out just what day Monday was. He realized the previous day that she didn't know what day Valentine's fell on this year when she didn't protest the date being on Monday. He had to wonder if someone had tipped her off or if she had just seen her calendar.

"What are you and Jenny doing?" Castle asked so he didn't have to talk about his date.

"We are actually going away for a long weekend. We'll be back Monday night."

"What about you, Esposito?"

"Trying to get some good reservations," he said with a bit of a frown. "I waited too long to call."

"In the dog house for Valentine's, sorry about that, bro," Ryan said with a big smile.

"So Beckett, you got any plans for Valentines?" Esposito asked trying to change the subject.

"Nothing important," she said as she got up to get more coffee, ignoring Castle's raised eyebrow.

End part 2


	3. Chapter 3

Authors Notes:

I still don't own Castle. I was going to post this last night but I had to do a major re-write of it. How can one page require that big of a re-write, I just don't know!

Part 3

He was getting back at her, she knew it. That was the only excuse for Castle being as annoying as he had been for the last couple of days. She was glad when Friday finally came to get a little space from him. She had a lot of thinking to do about their 'date.' The fact that he kept calling it a date was one thing. She had been able to pass it off as just payment for a bet until she realized it was Valentine's Day. She thought he would be going out with someone glamorous for such a night, not her. She still wasn't sure why he wanted to go out with her anyway, she was real and Castle didn't do real.

Another thing that Kate was concerned about was the fact that she knew that in just a few days she would be on Page 6 with Castle. She knew that with Castle recently being in the paper with his possible breakup with Gina, them showing up together would be fodder for the press. She had been dealing with Castle and rumors about the two of them for a while now but this would be much worse. Especially with him telling nearly everyone that he had a big date for Valentine's Day.

The last thing that she was worried about was something that she kept hidden and tried to avoid thinking about until she was alone. It was the small part of her that was thrilled to go out with Richard Castle. She had always enjoyed his books and was attracted to him but once she actually met him and got to know him that attraction just grew. No matter how hard she tried to stop it.

She thought it for several days and was just about to call it all off. Her decision was made up when she happened to overhear Castle telling Esposito that he had confirmed his reservations at Le Cirque for Monday night. She nervously thought about what she would wear and realized the dress she had picked out would not be nice enough for such a fancy place. Then she remembered that was where Castle and Gina had their fight. She was sure that the press would just love that.

"Castle, I need to talk to you," Kate said as she walked into the break room where he was getting more coffee, fully intending on telling him that the bet was off.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Yo, Beckett," Esposito interrupted them as he and Ryan also came in to get a refill of coffee. "Castle keeps talking big about his date for Monday but he refuses to say anything about her. Ryan and I are betting that she isn't actually real. What do you think?"

"I guess I'll have to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he is Richard Castle."

"I still don't think she's real," said Ryan.

"Oh, she's real. She's very real," Castle said as he glanced at Beckett.

"You don't do real, Castle," Beckett said seemingly contradicting her previous statement.

"Maybe because I haven't found the right woman to do real with," he responded looking directly at her hoping she would catch his eye.

"Then why haven't you been telling us all about her?" asked Ryan.

"Because she is a very private person."

"And she's dating you?" Esposito asked.

"Yeah, how lucky am I?" Castle smiled as the two detectives left the room shaking their heads, still not believing him. "So Beckett, did you need to tell me something?"

"Never mind," she said suddenly changing her mind about canceling their date. "It's okay."

End part 3


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Still don't own Castle. Having loads of fun with this story. Hope you are enjoying it too. Shortest part yet but good news, I have up to Chapter 10 finished. If I can finishe the last of the story tonight or tomorrow, I'll start posting 2 chapters a day. Or should I stick with 1 a day? Let me know in a review. Thanks!

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Part 4

Kate decided to call Lanie and see what her plans were for lunch on Valentine's Day. She just wanted to get out of the precinct for a little while and hopefully talk about something other than Castle. Unfortunately, Lanie wouldn't give her that luxury.

"So you never told me if you have plans for tonight, Beckett."

"I do, I just don't want to talk about it today. Can we talk about it tomorrow?" she asked knowing that it was going to be all over the station tomorrow exactly who she had gone out with. No matter how private of a person she was.

"So is this date tonight serious?"

"No."

"Then you should go out with Castle," Lanie said as she took a bite of her salad.

"What?"

"You are both single now, why not?"

"We work together," Kate insisted.

"So do Javi and me."

"He's my partner. It would be weird."

"Only if you let it Kate. You know Writer Boy likes you and I know you still have feelings for him."

"No I don't," Kate insisted.

"Yeah right. Just promise me you will think about it."

Kate took a large bite of her sandwich so she didn't have to talk about what Lanie had just asked.

"So, Lanie. What are you and 'Javi' doing tonight?" Kate asked changing the subject.

"I don't know, he won't tell me. He told me to wear something fancy but that's all."

Their conversation stayed away from talk of Castle letting Kate relax for the rest of their lunch. Soon she was feeling practically calm about the whole thing.

Until she saw the white box from a florist on her desk.

End part 4


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Castle still not mine. Sigh.

Part 5

"You'll never guess who I got flowers from," Lanie said over the phone.

"Esposito."

"Well, yes this morning, but I found a box on my desk from Castle just now."

Kate mumbled to herself, "I'm going to kill him."

"Did you get any?" Lanie asked.

"Yes."

"What did he send you?"

"Let me see, I just got back to my desk and I hadn't had a chance to... Oh my."

"What are they, girlfriend?"

"I don't know. I've never seen flowers like this. It looks a little like Queen Anne's Lace but the flowers aren't flat. What did he send you?"

"Dahlias. The card said they mean elegance and dignity. Does it say on your card what they mean?"

"No, it doesn't say anything."

"I'll come up to see them later. Where is Writer Boy?"

"He's in the break room talking to Esposito."

"Let him know I'm going to come up later to thank him so don't let him leave for his date until I talk to him."

"Will do."

Kate sat there for a while not sure of what to think. The flowers just confused her even more. She thought that he would go over the top and spare no expense and get her a huge bouquet of roses. These flowers were pretty but by no means extraordinary. She figured that he to have had some reason to get her those particular flowers. Her thoughts were broken when she heard his footsteps before he sat down in his chair.

"Do you like your flowers?" he asked.

"Yes, they are lovely."

"Glad you like them. Anything else going on for today?"

"Just paperwork."

"If you don't need me then, I am going to run on home. Need to get ready for my big date tonight." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Lanie needs to see you before you leave."

"I'll stop by on my way down. See you later, detective."

Kate watched him leave and was glad that he hadn't said anything about who his big date was with. She was surprised that he hadn't let that tidbit slip yet. She was sure that it would be all over the station tomorrow though. There was no way that the press wouldn't spot them out together tonight. And since it was widely known now, thanks to page 6 that Rick and Gina had fought, the press was sure to try to link him to someone else.

End part 5


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes: Okay I had a brain fart yesterday. I put part 5 in the Document manager but forgot to post it. Duh! I will post part 6 now but I'll probably only post one part tomorrow unless I finish the story tonight. It sure would be helpful if I can figure out how far I want the story to go, it would be much easier to finish it that way.

I think I have figured out how to end this but I just have to write the last part. Hopefully that won't take too long. I realize that these chapters are short and I do apologize for that but I wanted to have this be just a short story. Don't ask me how it got to 14 parts. I'll try to post Part 7 before I go to bed tonight too. Oh and this isn't beta'ed or anything so all the mistakes are mine. That is one problem about posting a story while still writing it because now I can't really go back and make any changes to some of the things if I want to. Oh well. Thanks for reading and sending all the reviews and story alerts!

Disclaimer: Still don't own Castle.

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Part 6

"Hello Dr. Parrish" Castle said as he walked into the morgue.

"Castle. Thank you for the flowers," she said as she snapped off her gloves.

"Glad you like them," he said a bit surprised as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?"

"Javi finally told me that you got us reservations at Le Cirque."

"I'm happy to help out a friend."

"I thought you said you had a big date tonight?"

"I do, I never planned on going to Le Cirque though."

"You didn't?"

"Nope," he said with a smile.

"You gonna tell me about it?"

"I don't kiss and tell, Dr. Parrish."

"Since when?" she flirted back.

"Since I don't want to screw this up," he said in a rather serious tone.

She looked at him closely then said "I need to finish this up so I can get ready for my date. Thanks again."

"No problem. Have a good evening."

Just as Kate was getting ready to leave work, Castle called her.

"Plans changed a bit. I'll still pick you up at 6:30 but wear something casual."

"I thought it was going to be formal."

"You can bring your formal clothes with you and change at the loft."

"Okay," she said wondering what he was up to.

End part 6


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes: Still don't own Castle. I only have 1 more part to finish then I can post the rest of the story. Thanks for all the reviews, I am loving them!

Part 7

Kate was ready to go when Castle rang her doorbell ten minutes late. She was wearing jeans and a red sweater as her one concession to the holiday.

"Sorry I'm late," he said as she opened the door. "I got held up in traffic."

"That's okay. Let me grab my bag." She picked up a garment bag but relinquished it as he took it from her then helped her into her jacket. He gallantly offered her his arm and after a moment's pause, she accepted it.

"I was expecting you to drive the Ferrari tonight," she said as he opened the door to his sedan.

"Loaned it to Esposito."

"Brave man."

"Insured man," he responded causing a chuckle.

"So where are you taking me?"

"Back to the loft for now," he said keeping his eyes on the road.

"What about the reservations for Le Cirque?"

"Those were for Lanie and Esposito."

"So what are we doing thing? And why did I bring formal clothes?"

"Just cause," he said causing her to roll her eyes at him.

"Do you know how much I was stressing out over going to such a fancy place with you tonight?"

"I'm sorry," he said looking over at her.

"I almost canceled the other day."

"Friday? In the break room?" he asked as she nodded. "Why didn't you then?"

"What you said to the guys."

"I meant it you know, I am a lucky guy," he glanced over at her trying to read her expression.

"Why didn't you just ask me out then?" she asked with a smile. "Why did you have to set up a bet I was sure to lose?"

"I didn't think you would say yes."

"Well, I didn't think you would ask me out for Valentine's but I wouldn't have said no right off at least," she said teasingly.

"That's good to know," he said before falling silent as he concentrated on driving in the crazy city traffic.

"Wait a minute," he suddenly said as he pulled into his garage. "You knew?"

End part 7


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Notes: Thank you all for the reviews. I know that these parts are short so I want to ask you all if you think that I should repost the story in it's entirety when it is all done or just leave it in the 14 parts that it is going to be? What do you think?

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

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Part 8

"Yes, I knew all about how you set me up for the bet."

"And you let me?" Rick asked shocked.

"I didn't think you would ask me out as your prize. Usually you want crime scene photos or something like that."

"Trust me Kate," he said as he held the elevator doors open and lightly rested his hand on her back to escort her inside. "A date with you is a much better prize."

"How did you figure it out?" he pouted after the doors closed.

"I'm a New York City detective, Castle. I'm paid to figure things like that out."

"So you would have said yes if I asked you out but you were going to back out on the bet?" he asked curious.

"Yes. I know that the press is going to be out in force tonight and I really not sure if I am ready to be in the paper."

"You don't have to be, certainly not anytime soon. I know you are a very private person and I am fine with that."

"That's good," she said with a small smile.

"So Kate, I am going to ask you one time," he stepped closer to her and lowered his head to look into her eyes. "Will you agree that this is an real date?"

"Okay," she said after she paused a moment and acted like she had to consider.

"Thank you."

"Are you going to tell everyone about it?" she asked suspiciously.

"No, but I don't want to hide it from everyone," he said honestly.

"Who would you tell?"

"Alexis."

"So you would be okay to keep anything between us a secret?" she asked rather surprised. She would have thought that he would have practically taken an ad out in the paper to let everyone know that she was on a date with him.

"Certainly from the press. I'm not sure about our friends or Mother but Alexis would figure it out too quick."

"She is a smart kid, Castle."

"One thing, Kate," he emphasized her name and leaned even closer. "If we are going out now, what do you say about calling me something other than 'Castle'?"

She smiled up at him as the elevator doors opened. "Okay, Pete."

End Part 8


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Notes: Well I finally finished up this story and I will try to post a little more often. I might post another part in the morning, if I can.

Thanks again for all the reviews! Actually, I have 53 reviews right now for this story and I am loving it. My other much longer story has 69 reviews. For the person who surpasses that number, reviewer #70, send me a prompt and I'll try to write a story just for you!

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Part 9

Rick caught up to Kate at the door to the loft and slipping one hand lightly around her waist, "Pete?"

"Well you said to call you something other than Castle."

"I didn't mean Pete," he said as he opened the door to the loft hanging her garment bag in the closet. Spotting his camera he pulled it out wanting to get a picture of Alexis before she left for her date.

"I know but the look on your face was priceless, Rick."

"Dad, you're late," Alexis called out.

"Sorry, pumpkin. Traffic was terrible. Are you going to make it in time?"

"Barely but I think so," Alexis said as she ran around gathering up her jacket and purse.

"Drive safe. Dinner ready?" he asked as he peeked under a lidded pot on the stove.

"Yep. I just put the bread in the oven," she suddenly stopped and turned to Kate. "Why did you call him Rick?"

"Because he doesn't like it when I call him Pete," Kate grinned at the girl's confused expression.

"She agreed to go out on a date with me and I asked her to call me something other than Castle."

"It's about time. I was wondering if you were ever going to get up the nerve to ask her, Dad."

"Gee, thanks kiddo."

"Sorry, Dad. Us girls have to stick together," she said as she joined arms with Kate, both nodding at him.

He just stood there looking at his two favorite people before he grabbed the camera and snapped a photo of the two of them. He was expecting Kate to protest but she surprised him and didn't. She figured that this picture was much better than the ones that she was expecting to have taken of her tonight.

"I need to get going, Ashley is probably waiting."

"Drive safe," Rick said.

"You already said that, Dad."

"Bears repeating," he said simply with a serious look on his face.

"Have a good time, Alexis," Kate said.

"You too. Just not too much fun," she said as she slipped out the door.

End part 9


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Notes: Please read the note at the end of the story. Thanks!

PS. I don't own Castle

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Part 10

"She's a good kid, Rick."

"She is. I hope you like lasagna."

"I do. Is there anything I can help with?"

"Could you pour some wine while I get this on the table?" She nodded and soon they were sitting next to each other at the table.

"This is good. Did you make it?"

"Yes I did," Rick said. "One of my nannies loved to cook and she taught me some of her favorite recipes."

They were quiet for a few minutes just enjoying the food, wine, and company. When they did talk again it was about stories of Rick's childhood and some of the trouble he would get into. Soon they were talking about their friends and mentioning that they both almost wished that Ryan hadn't let Esposito know that the rest of them knew about him and Lanie. They wondered just how long they would have hidden it from them.

"You know, Lanie really liked the flowers you sent her but you never did tell me about flowers you sent me," she gestured to another small grouping of the same flowers on the table.

"Do you like them?"

"Yes. They weren't what I expected though."

"You were expecting some big huge thing of roses weren't you?" he said with a smile.

"You have to admit that sounds like a very Rick Castle thing to do."

"True but I'm not always Rick Castle the writer. The flowers are called Angelica."

"Do they have a special meaning?"

"All flowers do, Kate. I searched through several websites before I could find just what I wanted to get for you. I'm a big follower of flower meanings and I needed to find the perfect thing for you. I didn't want to do roses, I thought that would be a little over the top for a first date."

"You over the top, no," she said sarcastically as he squinted at her.

"I wanted to find something that show how important you are to me. I know that they aren't the prettiest flowers out there but the meaning is perfect. These mean inspiration."

End part 10

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A/N: I will try to put a link to a photo of these flowers on my profile page.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Notes: Up to 65 reviews on this story and I now have 71 for my other story. The person who makes this story go past the reviews on the other story will get a treat. Send me a prompt and I will try to write a story just for you. Oh and NCIS-Addict-4427, contact me at some point and I'll try to write something for you also since you were #70 on the other story.

Part 11

"And I'm not just taking about how you inspired Nikki Heat. That does mean a lot to me but even more; you've made me grow up."

"You've grown up?" she asked trying to joke a bit since this was getting much more serious than she thought would happen tonight. "How did I make you grow up?"

"You know how I watch you, and yes I know you think it's creepy," he insisted before she could agree with him, "but by watching you, I've learned so much."

"Like what?"

"That you actually care. So many other cops I see just do their job then go home never bothering to think again of the people they dealt with during the day. You aren't like that. You actually care about the victim and their family."

"Well, I've been in their shoes before."

"I know," he said as he reached out and put his hand on hers. "And that makes it even more amazing."

"How? I would think that anyone who had my experiences would have similar feelings."

"No, Kate. You are special. You are such an inspiring person. You've had tragedy in your life, too much even but you haven't let it made you bitter. Guarded yes, but not bitter. You devote your life to justice because of what happened to you but you don't make a big deal about it."

"Why should I make a big deal about it? I can't change the past, the years of not knowing what really happened to my mom." He squeezed her hand and watched as she laced her fingers with his. "But I can change that for other families. I mean, it's terrible enough to lose a family member but not knowing why? That's horrifying, Rick. Hopefully, the families of the victims that I deal with will never know that horror."

"That's exactly what I mean, Kate. You care. When we first met, I only cared about Alexis and me. And I guess Mother too. If I worried about other people it was how it would affect Alexis or me. I would support various charities and such but only because it was good publicity for my books."

"A lot of celebrities do things for good publicity."

"I know, but now I want to do things more because it's the right thing to do than what can it get me."

"My mom's scholarship?"

"You devote your life for the same cause that she gave her life for, that should be honored in some way," he said.

"You didn't have to do that though."

"I know but I wanted to. If there is something I can do for the people I care about, even something as small as loaning my car to them, then I want to do it. I've never really done stuff like that but since I met you there are so many more people that I worry about. The Captain, Ryan, Esposito and Lanie," he paused, as he looked into her eyes then lightly touched her cheek with his hand. "And most of all, you."

End part 11


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Notes: I don't own them.

Part 12

"Oh, Rick I don't know if this is a good idea."

"Why not?" he asked gently as he leaned a bit closer.

"We work together."

"We still can," he said as he pulled their entwined hands to rest on his leg as he leaned closer still.

"I don't know."

"I'm not saying that I think this will be easy, Kate but we can work it out. Couples fight, it happens."

"We already fight," she said with a small smile.

"But we always get past that."

"Sometimes that hasn't been easy," said honestly.

"I know. But I'm glad that you forgive me when I do something stupid or dangerous."

"I just don't to see you get hurt, Rick," she said as she stood up and walked over to the fireplace.

"Is there anything else that concerns you?" he asked as he followed her but not invading her personal space.

"You are Richard Castle, the master of the macabre," she said as she turned to look at him. "You are a household name."

"But Rick the writer isn't all I am. I'm Richard the son, I'm Rick the friend and I'm Dad."

"I know and I really like seeing those sides of you," she said as she reached out and touched his arm.

"So it's pretty much just the writer side you aren't sure about dating?"

"That and the playboy side."

"I'm not going to lie to you about my past, Kate. I have two failed marriages and a string of exes. All I can say is that I want something different now. I don't want a bimbette or celebuante, I had those and I don't want that. I want real," he stepped closer.

"How can I tell what is real and what isn't with you though? Is it the man I see when you are with Alexis, the man you are at your book parties, the man who signs boobs?"

"That's Rick Castle the writer, the playboy, but this, Kate," he gestured to his living room. "Here in the loft, at the precinct, with Alexis, with you, this is just me. Just a normal guy who would rather stay at home and make dinner than always go out all the time. I wanted to show you me."

End part 12


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Notes: Still don't own them. Sigh. I'm Widget was the lucky 73rd reviewer of this story, she is the one who's review surpassed those of my other story. Check in your inbox for a message from me.

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Part 13

"As I said, Rick, I like those sides of you."

"So you like the private sides of me not the public side?" he smiled at her.

"I guess you could say that."

"I have a question for you, Kate."

"Just one?" she asked with a little half smile, which he returned.

"I know that you've read my books for a while, I don't really know how big of a fan you are but did you ever hear about me, not just my books, before we met?"

"Of course. I even went to one of your book signings once."

"Really? How did I not know that?"

"Yeah," she said looking away blushing slightly, not intending on ever letting him know about that. "I heard about you but I didn't go out of my way to find out all sorts of things about you."

"What were some of the things you heard about me?" he asked standing close to her.

"I knew that you were married a few times. You dated a lot; you were kind of the bad boy. I knew you had a child."

"What all did you know about Alexis?"

"Just that you had a daughter," she turned to look at him.

"I've already told you that Alexis is the most important person to me and I thought it was important to keep her private. I never hid her existence but I refused to let her be shoved into the public eye."

"Was that easy?"

"Not always but it was important to me so I did what I needed to do. And I will be happy, more than happy, to do the same for you."

"What do you mean?" she asked as he reached out for her hand.

"You are very important to me, Kate and I know that you are a private person, I'm okay with that. And because of that, I will do whatever I can to keep 'us' between us and not in the press."

End Part 13

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The last part is coming up, and I'll tell you, it's like twice as long as any of the other parts. Hope you enjoy!


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Notes: First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting this earlier today, I was out writing earlier then my son took over the other computer. Second, thanks to everyone who reviewed the story, I really appreciate it. Seeing all these reviews has been so much fun, I have 87 now for such a little story, it just boggles my mind.

Part 14

"We are such different people though, Rick."

"Kate, we are partners. Don't you think if two such different people can learn to work so well together, it might just work out for us?"

"But, Rick, that's such a big risk."

"I could be but think of it this way. You risk your life in the line of duty every day but never your heart. Don't you think it's time to take that risk?"

"I did, or at least I tried to last year," she said softly turning her back to him.

"Josh?" he asked wincing at thinking of her giving her heart to Motorcycle Boy.

"No. And it wasn't Tom either."

"Then who?" he asked confused.

She turned to look into his clear blue eyes. He was confused when he saw the hurt in her eyes and wanting to comfort her in any way that he could, his hand lightly touched her cheek.

"What happened, Kate?"

"Gina showed up."

"Gina?" he asked as she nodded her head. Suddenly he understood. "You weren't just trying to wish me a good summer were you?"

She shook her head no before he pulled her into his arms.

"No wonder you were all so pissed when I got back."

"No, we were pissed that you left for the summer and never thought to call or text and didn't even let us know you were back."

"I am very sorry about that and I did learn my lesson."

"I know. You've been good keeping in contact with us since then. It's just we've gotten used to you at the precinct."

"Just at the precinct?"

"No. I've gotten used to you too."

They stood there wrapped in the other's arms for a while neither speaking.

"I can't promise I'll never do anything stupid or dangerous again. Actually, I probably will but I can promise I will do whatever I can to never hurt you like that again."

"Rick," she said still in his arms.

"I know we will fight, it will happen." He pulled back slightly to look at her. "But I also know that we will make up. We just need to be able to talk about anything and this will work. Relationships aren't always easy but I think that the good will far outweigh the bad. We work well together, my family is crazy about you, we have a lot of the same friends, a lot of similar views on important issues and we have great chemistry together."

"I know we have good chemistry but I just don't know if it's worth it to risk what all we have."

"Good chemistry?" His eyebrow shot up. "Try great, that kiss just about knocked my socks off."

He smiled as she rolled her eyes at him even as she blushed just a bit.

"Kate, what can you get if you take a big risk?"

"A big heartbreak."

"Or a big payoff. I have to think positive here, Kate. I don't want to lose you, you mean too much to me."

"I don't want to lose you either," she finally admitted as she looked back up at him watching as his face relaxed into a gentle smile.

"So, will you go out with me again?" he asked as he caressed her cheek.

"Yes," she said simply.

Rick let his hand slip behind her head and as he leaned down, her arms wrapped tighter around him as they finally kissed.

Fin

Author's Notes: Once again I would like to thank everyone for reading, reviewing and putting the story on alerts. I doubt that I'll ever get paid money for my writing but feedback and reviews such as I've gotten here sure are a good payment.


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